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Clemson Baseball

Seth Beer doing the "little things" heading into 2018

January 27, 2018
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Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee is a believer in the little things.

In most sports, the little things play a prominent role in whether a team is successful or not, but in baseball, the little things mean everything.

So it’s not a surprise when Lee gets frustrated with his players if they don’t pay attention to some of the little things out on the diamond or in the locker room. After an offseason workout, the locker room was empty, and Lee walked in to see the lights were on and the batting cage was unlocked.

"He hits before practice, during practice, lifts weights and then the guy goes back to the cage by himself and will crank up one of those pitching machines and just hit by himself for who knows how long."
- Monte Lee

Lee thought someone had forgotten to do the little things: clean up, make sure everything was locked, and the lights were off. Walking to the batting cage to fix it up, he was ready to let his frustrations show.

But then he heard a familiar sound. A distinct sound of a baseball hitting a metal bat.

It was Seth Beer.

“He hits before practice, during practice, lifts weights and then the guy goes back to the cage by himself and will crank up one of those pitching machines and just hit by himself for who knows how long,” Lee said Friday afternoon. “That’s kind of who Seth is. He’s a guy who is extremely self-motivated. He does things the right way, leads by example, and tries to help our younger players.”

Beer, a team leader, is coming off of another tremendous season as Clemson’s number one threat while batting. He hit .298 with 51 runs, 17 doubles, one triple 16 homers, and 53 RBIs. A few teammates mentioned he has matured as a leader and as a baseball player since the season ended last year. Beer wants to be more than just the team’s leading slugger.

"I made it a big thing for me to go out there and take ground balls every day, run bases the right way, do the little things right."
- Seth Beer

“I started focusing on becoming a good baseball player,” Beer said. “I made it a big thing for me to go out there and take ground balls every day, run bases the right way, do the little things right.”

This season, the second-team All-American will highlight a Clemson batting order that will be as powerful as ever thanks to a “three-headed monster” in Logan Davidson, Beer, and Chris Williams.

“I think any college baseball coach would sign up for those three bats in the lineup,” Lee said. “They make all of us look like we are pretty good hitting coaches.”

How powerful can this lineup be?

“Very,” Davidson said with a smile. “We’ve got a lot of potential.”

Clemson baseball comes into to the 2018 season ranked No. 12 in the country according to Baseball America. The Tigers finished with a 42-21 record and hosted an NCAA Tournament Regional, but fell to Vanderbilt in the final game 8-0.

Clemson fans are clamoring for a Super Regional appearance, something the Tigers hadn’ done since 2010 when they advanced to the College World Series. Expectations will start to ramp up for Lee in just his third year, but he said this team isn’t worried about any potential outcomes. There’s no pressure.

“When you start talking about things like that, it puts more pressure on your team,” Lee said. “We don’t talk about outcomes. We want our guys to play with no regrets… We don’t worry about pressure. We worry about playing the game the right way and making the most of what we can do with this team.

“Everybody knows what is on the back of our hat. Everybody knows what the expectations and the goals are and where we want to go, but that’s not something we talk about.”

The little things and focus on minuscule details will be crucial for the Tigers as they open the season. Every swing, every pitch, and every win will give this team ever-growing confidence that will cause big things to come.

It all starts at practice, which began Friday afternoon.

“We’re very excited to be able to get the full squad out here and get started on the process of one day at a time trying to get our team better… It’s a time of competition. It’s one day at a time. Let’s go out there and compete as hard as we can to see who is the best nine guys to help us win.”

The Tigers begin their 2018 campaign on February 16th against William & Mary.

Look for our season preview tomorrow morning from Seldom Used Reserve.

 
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